Our mission is to equip at-risk kids with the skills they need to succeed in school, stay in school, and thrive in life.
THE NEED
Growing up is tough, growing up without the resources and support you need is even tougher. Low-income kids oftentimes experience significant trauma, are exposed to violence, have fewer role models, and often live in unstable homes. The stress of these obstacles can weigh a child down before they even get out of bed in the morning. More than 12 million US kids live in poverty and the academic achievement gap between lower and high-income families has grown by 40% in 30 years.
WHERE OTHERS SEE PROBLEMS WE SEE POTENTIAL
Since our beginnings in 1996, we have focused exclusively on working with low-income children by providing a safe place to stay after school and teaching them skills to succeed in school. We aren’t just providing care after school and we aren’t just teaching “soft-skills.” We are teaching skills that can radically change how they relate to others and behave in school. We are providing inspiration to do well in school and to stay in school. We are instilling in them a belief in possibilities that they can be anything they want to be. We are giving them hope for a bright future. We are teaching them that they have wings to SOAR!
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Research shows that strong social emotional skills are key to helping kids succeed in school, be prepared for the workforce, and become positive and healthy contributors to society. Research also shows that effective social emotional education has the power to strengthen attachment to school and reduce negative classroom behavior, two significant predictors of who will stay in school through high school graduation.
Our long-term vision is a world where there is equity in academics, opportunity, and emotional well-being for all children, regardless of socioeconomic status.
In the short term our focus is to expand our services to reach substantially more children, both in-school and after school and ensure that the programs we deliver are of the highest quality and create measurable outcomes.
WHAT WE DO
– Operate regional programs at eleven Title I elementary schools and serve 1,160 kids every day through our afterschool program.
– Empower others with social emotional learning best practices through professional development workshops.
– Partner with like-minded organizations to scale effective social emotional learning initiatives across the country.
Our evidence-based approach fosters the mindset, skills, and confidence children need to behave well, make good decisions, and build healthy relationships.
